IT’S Sunraysia versus the World in the name of supporting junior cricketers.
Sunraysia Cricket Association will hold a Presidents XI versus World XI Twenty20 match on Friday, December 23, in a bid to raise funds to give young players opportunities at Country Week.
A T20 contest between a presidents side and an all-English outfit over a decade ago was well received, and two strong sides look set to collide at Irymple’s Henshilwood Oval.
Adam Thomson will skipper the President’s XI, featuring members of the reigning SCA Team of the Year, while Richie Wyld is at the helm of the World XI.
“It’s all about trying to raise a bit of money to help send SCA under 13, 15 and 17 teams away to Country Week,” Thomson said.
“It’s an expensive exercise but it’s great exposure for those kids so we want to try and help that as much as possible.
“It will be a good opportunity for people to come out and support local cricket and have a bit of fun before Christmas.
“They’ve managed to poach a couple of our guys which helps them but we feel we’ve got a pretty well balanced side, although a couple are still to be confirmed.”
With the likes of Shac Thomas, Chris Williams and number of imports amongst the ranks, Wyld is happy with how his team is shaping up.
“I was having a look the other night and the batting order goes really deep,” he said.
“The last one we did I reckon might have been 2007 when we had a full English XI, including a couple of guys from Swan Hill. I think we might have lost that by 10 or 15 runs so it would be a good opportunity to get one back on them. The crowd was really good that night and hopefully it might be similar.
“We’ll use a pink ball and the boundary is likely to come in a bit so hopefully it’s high scoring and we can make it a fun night.”
The match begins at 6.30pm on Friday, December 23. Entry is a gold coin donation, with bar operating and food available as well as raffle and junior Master Blaster action between innings.
